WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 98 - Floor 23 (4)

Park Minho was surprised. He hadn’t expected to run into Seol Suhyeok on Floor 23 of all places.

'That guy seemed to hold a pretty high position within the Molting Church.'

If so, whatever was happening there right now was unlikely to be ordinary.

'I need to find out somehow.’

However, Seol Suhyeok soon entered the supermarket, and there was only so much they could observe from outside.

Park Minho brought up the problem.

"Is there any way we can get a closer look?”

"Hmm......."

Gu Bonjae stroked his chin in thought, then spoke with Old Yellow. Afterward, he told them something.

"Apparently, there's a loading area behind the supermarket where security is relatively lax. Want to take a look?”

"Sounds good. We don’t have any other options like this anyway.”

The group took a wide detour toward the back of the supermarket to avoid being spotted. Sure enough, just as Old Yellow had said, the security there appeared less stringent than at the front.

Boxes and supplies were piled up haphazardly, with several cultists carrying them around.

Two monster dogs could be seen nearby. Fortunately, since their heads were human, their sense of smell wasn’t particularly sharp, so they failed to notice Park Minho’s group hiding nearby.

-Vrooom.

Before long, a truck arrived and began unloading supplies that appeared to have been scavenged. It was clear that the Molting Church had established a base on Floor 23.

"Could you ask Old Yellow what’s inside, Mister?”

"Sure."

After speaking with him for a moment, Gu Bonjae gave an unexpected answer.

"Old Yellow says he’s never been inside.”

"Really?”

"Doesn’t seem like the beast is lying. Normally, the monster dogs have assigned duties that take them inside, but apparently this one’s a rookie that was only born recently. He says he got caught by us on his very first mission. What an unlucky bastard!”

Maybe that was why he had adapted to his new master more readily than expected. Though Gu Bonjae’s terrifying appearance was probably the biggest factor.

"I see. Let’s keep watching for now. We might still discover something.”

However, even by sunset, they had nothing to show for it.

"We should start looking for somewhere to sleep as well. Floor 23 is especially dangerous at night.”

Following Ivan’s advice, the group entered a nearby apartment building and settled in.

And that night.

Park Minho had a dream.

It was extraordinarily vivid, almost indistinguishable from reality, yet he was still aware that he was dreaming.

[Come this way……Help me.]

It was the voice of an old man. It was filled with deep resentment. Knowing that he was in the Backrooms, Park Minho didn’t dismiss it as just some meaningless dream.

'I need to stay sharp.'

Dreams were a dangerous path that could lead into an entirely new kind of Backrooms. That was why people inside the Backrooms often took anomalous pills that prevented them from dreaming altogether.

[Come to me… I have suffered such injustice and bitterness. Help me……I shall reward you in return.]

He had no idea who was speaking to him. At the same time, Park Minho’s vision was drawn into some kind of building. He couldn’t make out its interior structure clearly, but he saw one thing.

It was an enormous mass of flesh pulsating like a heart.

Thump! Thuuump!

A pitiful cry echoed from within the horrifying mass of flesh.

[Please……Save me.]

An ordinary person would’ve recoiled in terror at this point.

But after all the adventures he had been through, Park Minho had become practically fearless.

He asked,

"What will you give me? I don’t take jobs unless the payoff is worth it.”

[……I swear upon my name that the Church will use its power to grant one wish of yours……This is no small reward.]

"What exactly do you want?”

[……Free me……You will learn the details if you search through the Remnants.]

His vision shifted, revealing the basement of a building near the supermarket.

Park Minho nearly retched on the spot. Several corpses with all their internal organs removed were rotting inside.

Countless maggots writhing in dense masses. And near the caprese were several of the pitch-black, ghost-like things known as Remnants.

Just as he was about to continue the conversation, he suddenly woke up.

"......!"

Park Minho shot upright in surprise, his entire body drenched in sweat.

"...Are you all right?”

Ivan, who had been standing watch nearby, asked.

Park Minho wiped away the sweat with his sleeve and told him about the dream. Ivan’s expression turned serious.

"This is an important clue. Do you remember where the basement is?”

"Yes. It’s not far from the supermarket. I somehow know the location, as if someone planted it directly into my head.”

"I think we should go take a look once day breaks. For now, get some rest.”

"Understood.”

He drank a glass of water and lay back down immediately, but after a dream like that, there was no chance he could fall asleep.

Park Minho tossed and turned for a long time before finally drifting off again around dawn.

How much time had passed?

"Uuugh……”

It felt as though he had only just laid down, but when he checked the time, it was already 10 in the morning. Gu Bonjae chuckled quietly.

"Young people sure sleep a lot. I heard what happened. Eat something first. We'll head over there shortly.”

"......Understood."

* * *

The moment they reached the building with the basement, a foul stench wafted up toward them.

"......."

Park Minho was already losing confidence about going down there. After covering half his face with the cloth Ivan handed him, headed into the basement.

"......!"

The scene inside was exactly as he had seen it in his dream. The moment they opened the door, an enormous swarm of flies burst out toward the light, startling him badly.

When the light illuminated the interior, pale-white maggots spilled like waves from atop the blackened masses of corpses.

"The smell is far too strong. It would be better to leave the door open and let the place air out a little before we go inside.”

Park Minho nodded at Ivan’s suggestion.

When they went back inside about 30 minutes later, it was much better, and they could at least breathe, but the stench was still indescribably horrific.

They soon discovered the identities of the corpses inside.

Gray robes bearing the image of a cicada shedding its husk.

They were all members of the Molting Church.

"What do you think happened here?”

At Park Minho’s question, Gu Bonjae cautiously offered a guess.

“I’d say it was an internal purge… These things happen from time to time when running an organization."

There were more than 15 of them at a glance. They had been executed and dumped in this basement.

"Look over there."

In the corner of the basement Ivan pointed toward was one of the pitch-black shadows known as Remnants.

When Park Minho tried to approach them, Ivan stopped him.

"You’ll suffer Cognitive Contamination.”

“But it’s also our only way to obtain information.”

However, since both Park Minho and Ivan were intermediate Awakened, simply coming into contact with a Remnant wouldn’t cause their minds to rapidly collapse.

Even though they were on a floor where anomalous abilities were sealed, things like their resistance remained intact.

"Hmm…In that case, let’s split up and make contact with the Remnants separately. There are too many for one person to handle alone. Afterward, we can combine the information each of us gathered from them.”

"Understood."

"I’ll join you.”

Gu Bonjae stepped forward as well. And so, all three connected with the Remnants.

"......!"

Along with a sudden shock that felt like he was falling, nausea surged through Park Minho. Then countless scenes unfolded inside his mind.

"You are heretics!”

"You’re even worse than unbelievers!”

"This place will become your grave!”

Just as expected, it really had been a purge. And from the various lines replaying inside his head, he was able to piece together more of what had happened.

'The heresy charge was just an excuse. Was this a factional struggle?'

Astonishingly, Seol Suhyeok currently held power within the Molting Church. He had apparently been in a position akin to that of a successor from the very beginning.

Then, after the previous Entity Rift incident, the High Priest had died. Surprisingly, Seol Suhyeok had subsequently moved to dispose of these people.

'Ruthless......'

Before long, the dizziness became unbearable.

That was because the agony of death experienced by the Remnants was being replayed through their memories. Park Minho felt as though his mind were being stained pitch-black and hurriedly broke away.

"Haaah…! Hah!”

Moments ago, he had experienced his limbs being chewed apart by a monster dog and his internal organs being ripped out. Park Minho’s face turned deathly pale, and in the end, he couldn’t hold back vomiting any longer.

"......!"

He felt slightly better after emptying his stomach. He rinsed the bitter gastric acid from his mouth with water and went outside.

Gu Bonjae, on the other hand, looked perfectly fine. Perhaps that was because, as an entity, he had already accumulated about as much Cognitive Contamination as possible.

A short while later, the three discussed and compiled the information they had obtained. And they learned one important fact.

"Surprisingly, Seol Suyheok is suspected of killing the High Priest. And it seems the High Priest’s soul periodically attempts to resurrect.”

The High Priest had been a renowned wielder of miracle arts. Although he had lost his physical body, he apparently possessed some means of resurrection.

It seemed that he had become an obstacle to Seol Suyhyeok’s attempt to take control of the Church.

"So that Seol Suhyeok brat’s solution was to construct a sealing site on Floor 23. And while he was at it, he purged the believers who followed the High Priest. Hmph! That young bastard is far more vicious and ruthless than I expected.”

Gu Bonjae looked thoroughly displeased.

They had learned plenty of other things as well.

"So the monster dogs had another purpose. I thought they were only being used for combat.”

They had discovered why the monstrous dogs only sucked out human organs. The organs they consumed were processed inside their bodies and regurgitated as enormous masses of biological construction material, which the Molting Church was using to build the outer wall of the High Priest’s seal.

Only then did Park Minho understand.

"So that enormous, heart-like mass I saw in my dream was actually the seal imprisoning the High Priest.”

And the purged cultists and the survivors of Floor 23 had been used to create that flesh seal.

"Incredible. To think the Molting Church was hiding a secret like this……Their internal conflict is much worse than I expected.”

Ivan was a man who rarely showed any change in expression, but even he looked surprised now.

Park Minho felt the same.

Seol Suyeon’s younger brother, Seol Suhyeok, was a far more important figure within the Molting Church than he had imagined.

'At this point, getting him out isn’t even the real issue anymore, is it?'

He felt sorry for Seol Suyeon, but her younger brother hadn’t merely gotten caught up in the Molting Church. He was actively trying to climb all the way to the top of it.

"Let’s move for now. The stench is so strong I can’t stand it. Uugh!”

"Understood. Mister.”

The group returned to their lodging. However, the rotten stench clinging to their bodies refused to disappear.

"What do you intend to do now?”

Ivan asked for Park Minho’s opinion.

"Hmm......"

After thinking it over repeatedly, Park Minho decided it would be best to get involved.

"The Molting Church is an obvious threat. We can’t simply ignore it. If we can trigger an internal conflict and buy ourselves some time, that would be ideal. We also need enough breathing room to exert political influence in the fortress city and push through a decision to subjugate the Molting Church.”

If they left things as they were, the Molting Church might start plotting something again under Seol Suhyeok’s influence. They needed to keep them fighting among themselves so they had no opportunity to turn their attention outward.

"I understand what you mean. We’ve also learned quite a lot about the inside……but it will be extremely dangerous.”

Because they had viewed the memories of several Remnants, they now knew things such as the layout inside the supermarket building and how its guards were stationed.

There were more than a 100 people inside. There were over 10 monster dogs as well, leaving an enormous disparity in fighting strength between the two sides.

"We still have to do it.”

Park Minho was resolute.

"And our objective isn’t to fight them head-on. Using the information we obtained from the Remnants, we’ll infiltrate the interior, free the High Priest’s soul, and get out. After that, we’ll let the High Priest handle the rest.”

"What about the hidden route?"

"It’s too difficult to find, so we’ll put that aside for now. If this succeeds, there's a good chance the internal fighting will weaken their blockade of the existing passages. We can take advantage of that instead.”

"Understood, Minho-nim."

And so, they decided to infiltrate the supermarket.

_________________________________________________________________________

Join our Discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/wetried